LOS ANGELES — Lloyd Banks finally has a solid release date for his second album — not that it's stopping him from recording more songs.

"I don't stop recording until they tell me I can't — 'cause some of your best records come at crunch time," said Banks, who is still adding material to Rotten Apple, due September 19.

In fact, at June's BET Awards, where Banks performed with Busta Rhymes (see "Eminem Joins Busta Onstage, Jamie Foxx Smooches Fantasia At BET Awards"), the rapper was doing a little work for the record. "It's a good thing to be back around and see a lot of your peers, and I'm actually going to call a few of them and try and get 'em into the studio to close the album out," he said.

So far, Banks has brought in his G-Unit family — 50 Cent, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, Mobb Deep and Spider Loc — as well as Timbaland, Scarface, 8Ball, Rakim and, most recently, Musiq (Soulchild). "It ain't too many, but the ones I got on board are awesome," Banks said.

Although he's still recording, Banks has already released the first single — "Hands Up" — and has the second picked out.

"The track is basically me giving orders throughout the whole record, basically me telling you to keep your hands up," Banks said of the single. "It's a feel-good record, it's a party record. I wanted to get back into the club." The song features a verse from 50 Cent and was produced by Eminem (see "Lloyd Banks Snatches Up 50, Em, Rakim For LP — And Gets His 'Cake' Too").

"I had a record recorded, actually, and I sent it to [50] and then Em. He sent it back to me and it's a hit," Banks said. "It's 'On Fire' all over again. That's what he told me not so long ago, it's 'On Fire' part two," he added, referring to one of the big singles from his 2004 debut, The Hunger for More.

As for the next one, Banks is "gonna talk to the females again." "The name of that track is 'Help' — not me, but help the girl," is all he would say about single number two.